– One who can protect me from the death that is this material life, is Guru.
– One who can protect me from the fear of death, is Guru.
– One by going to whom I do not have to go to anyone else, by listening to whom I do not have to listen to anyone else, is Guru.
– The reservoir of grace whom the Supreme Lord, the personification of the supreme good, has made responsible for looking after my welfare, is my Guru.
– One by whose grace I can get rid of my controlling ego, is Guru.
– One who brings the revealed truth to us, who by showering us with such truth can make us humbler than a blade of grass and more tolerant than a tree, is Guru.
– One who makes us respectful to others without having any desire for respect from others, who can manifest transcendental kirtan in our mouths by transferring his own potency, of the Lord, is Guru.
– Only the lotus feet of Sri Guru can free us from the shackles of illusion.
– One who gives me the transcendental knowledge that all the people of the world are respectable and worshipable by me, that the whole world is meant for service to Guru and everyone is my Guru, that I am a servitor of Krishna, and that service to Krishna is my only duty, is Sri Guru.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupada